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Dear RotoRob: King Felix for Delmon?

Just because you’re lucky enough to own uber prospect Philip Hughes doesn’t mean you should deal away Felix Hernandez.

By James Morris

Dear RotoRob.com,
‘
Hey man – here’s another keeper league question for you.’
‘
With guys like Philip Hughes and Homer Bailey on the horizon, would you trade away Felix Hernandez for Delmon Young?
‘
James.

James,

It really depends on what your OF and SP look like. Hughes and Bailey haven’t done anything yet in the big leagues. Felix, meanwhile, is currently on the big league roster and doesn’t have to earn his spot this spring. Young looks like the next big OF, but King Felix will be huge too.

What it breaks down to is how strong your staff is without Hernandez. Hughes has to earn his spot in the rotation and the Yankees don’t even trust him as of yet to hand him a spot out of spring training. Both Hughes and Bailey have to still prove they can baffle the big league talent the way they baffled the Class-A and Double-A hitters. Not yet pitching in Triple-A could be a hurdle for them to overcome. Come back and let us know who your others starting pitchers are before you deal off your future ace for your future clean-up
hitter.

It shows them as the Washington Nationals in 2004, which means last year would have been their third season. I guess I should have checked elsewhere as well, but usually ESPN is so dependable.

Well, thanks for bringing that to my attention and I sure hope 2007 isn’t as long as I think it will be for you guys.

Dear RotoRob.com,

A guy in my league offered me Orlando Hudson and J.D. Drew or Bill Hall for a second draft pick. I’m in a keeper league. I guess it would be a great trade for me. I need a 2B and a third outfielder for my draft.

Martin

Hey Martin,

I think Drew and Hudson for a second round pick is fair, depending on how many teams are in your league and the number each team is allowed to keep. Brewers manager Ned Yost said that he plans to use Hall in centre field at the beginning of the season. While Hall will qualify at SS this season, he may start to play in the OF exclusively, thus dropping infield eligibility. And in shifting to a new position, Hall could very well struggle with the stick this year. Hudson, on the other hand, will hit around .280/.350/.430.

Drew is older and an injury concern. But, when he is in the game he is a threat with the bat. Hudson has improved his hitting each of the last three seasons and should do the same in 2007. Hudson has very good range at 2B and Hall is being moved out of the 2B position. Take Drew and Hudson and hope Drew can stay healthy.

Dear RotoRob.com,

Which player to keep: Aaron Harang or Robinson Cano?

What do you say?

Chris

Hey Chris,

That depends on who you have a 2B and who you have at SP. I see Cano hitting around .325/.350/.500 and Harang ending with around 12 wins and a 4.15 ERA. Harang could do better than that projection, and Cano could easily do worse than that projection.

I am a big pitching guy myself, but finding a 2B that can hit in the .325/.350/.500 range is about the hardest thing to do in fantasy sports. All things equal, I have to keep Cano, since 2B traditionally isn’t a position that has many quality hitters.

James Morris, of Rio Rancho, NM, has been playing fantasy sports for a decade, and participates in around 45 leagues total, ranging from Diamond Mind Baseball Simulation leagues, Yahoo, ESPN.com, NFL.com and NBA.com leagues. He writes the Dear RotoRob column for RotoRob.com.

2 Responses to “Dear RotoRob: King Felix for Delmon?”

[...] Thanks for getting back to me (Tom e-mailed me regarding my Nationals’ preview, a matter discussed in the last Dear RotoRob column). You’d think ESPN would be a little smarter than that. I recall, though that for a year or more they had RFK’s total attendance capacity at around 55,000, which is true for when the Redskins played there, but for baseball it’s only around 45,000. Very annoying it took them so long to fix it. Here’s an article describing opening day, 2005. As a season ticket holder for both years, I have a pretty good handle on when they showed up, and when they weren’t here (34 years, to be exact). I was even in attendance for the Senators’ last game in 1971, so I had plenty of years to prepare. [...]

[...] Thanks for getting back to me (Tom e-mailed me regarding my Nationals’ preview, a matter discussed in the last Dear RotoRob column). You’d think ESPN would be a little smarter than that. I recall, though that for a year or more they had RFK’s total attendance capacity at around 55,000, which is true for when the Redskins played there, but for baseball it’s only around 45,000. Very annoying it took them so long to fix it. [...]